Worcester-based Notre Dame Hospice last week announced it has expanded its pediatric palliative care services to the Merrimack Valley area.

The organization, a division of Notre Dame Health Care on Plantation Street, has been providing palliative care to terminally-ill children in Central Massachusetts since 2012, Notre Dame Hospice said in a statement. Known as the "Pedi Pals" program, it is part of the a statewide pediatric patient care network funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The program addresses a variety of physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of children and their families coping with life-limiting illness, Notre Dame said.

In the last five years, the program has grown to care for 100 children, and Notre Dame will now service an additional 40 children, thanks to new funding approved by the state.